Ferhadija mosque

Ferhat-Pasha Mosque or more widely known as Ferhadija Mosque was a central building of the city of Banja Luka and one of the most successful achievements of the Islamic architecture of the 16th century Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mosque was built in 1579 in a classical Ottoman style by an unknown architect, an apprentice of Mimar Sinan. It was commissioned by the Bosnian Sanjak-Bey Ferhat-Pasha Sokolovic. The Ferhadija mosque complex also included three small adjacent mausoleums carrying tombs of Ferhat-Pasha Sokolovic, his granddaughter Safi-kaduna and his ensign, a central fountain called Shaderwan, Stone and wrought iron fence with the small fountain on the corner, and an old graveyard in the back. A later addition to the complex was a near-by clock tower Sahat-Kula. The mosque was 18 meters in width and 14 meters in length while the main dome was 18 meters high. The munara was 43 m high. Ferhadija was listed as a cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1950 and was subsequently listed with UNESCO as the world cultural monument.

Destruction

The mosque was partially demolished by explosives on May 7, 1993 and subsequently razed to the ground by Serb radical nationalists as part of ethnic cleansing campaign of Republika Srpska. The first bombing of the mosque was carried out by unidentified people at the time supported by the authorities of Republika Srpska. The subsequent demolition was organized by the authorities of the Republika Srpska which included the demolition of the entire Ferhadija complex. The remains were taken to the city dump while some stone pieces and ornamental details were crushed and used as a landfill. The leveled site was later used as a parking lot. Several weeks after the destruction of Ferhadija a near-by clock tower Sahat-Kula was also destroyed. Ferhadija mosque was one of the 16 mosques destroyed in the city of Banja Luka during the Bosnian War in 1992-1995.

Reconstruction

A building permit was granted in 2001 to the Islamic Community of Banja Luka (Islamska Zajednica Banjaluke) to reconstruct the mosque. However, recent attempts to reconstruct the Ferhadija mosque resulted in mass riots by Serb nationalists on May 7, 2001. Some 4,000 Serb rioters beat and stoned three hundred elderly Bosniaks, participants of the ceremony comemorating the laying of the cornerstone for the reconstruction. At least eight people were taken to the Banja Luka hospital for medical treatment. One of them, Murat Badic, aged sixty-one, died on May 26, 2001 of head injuries. The ceremony of placing the cornerstone was completed few days later in secrecy and under a heavy security. Although some of the mosques destroyed in Banja Luka in the period of the Bosnian War were reconstructed since 2001, the reconstruction process of the Ferhadija mosque is still a very contentious issue in Banja Luka due to its prominent location in the city. Its reconstruction is further delayed due to the unresolved complexities of its authentic reconstruction. Preliminary studies for its authenthic reconstruction have been prepared by the School of Architecture - Design and Research Center in Sarajevo. The reconstruction cost is estimated to be about 12 million KM (around $8 million).

References

• "Principles and Methodological Procedure for Reconsolidation of Ferhat-Pasha Mosque in Banja Luka"- School of Architecture - Design and Research Center, Sarajevo